“Hey, remember that ‘Ships of the Rebellion’ series you were doing? I found one more for you.” was how my editor started off the conversation. I honestly thought I was done. I’d covered every letter of the Alliance alphabet, moving from A- to B- and X, Y, and even Z. I’d flown every TIE variant the Imperials fielded, and even the Assault Gunboat and its weird offspring. Oh, and I’d flown a YT-1300. Not the infamous Millennium Falcon, I’ll grant you, but a YT-1300 none the less. What else was there?
“We’ve been going over some old records, and it seems like this Ace Azzameen guy flew a bunch of missions in his family’s YT-2000 transport, the Otana. The 2K ships don’t have nearly the collector value as the -1300 or -2400 series, but I found a guy in an Outer Rim sector who’s got one that’s still in flying condition. Want to try it out?”
Obviously, I wasn’t going to say no. And that’s how I ended up in the Balec system, trying out one of the few Corellian Engineering Corporation models I hadn’t previously flown. Roughly similar in size and cargo capacity to a YT-1300 or YT-2400, the chief difference in the YT-2000 was the use of a centrally positioned cockpit pod. This solved the primary defect of the YT-1300, although it did remove the “Yard Dog” cargo pusher abilities.
Entry via the standard boarding ramp gave quick access to a central hallway. This hallway allowed quick access between the cockpit and the dorsal and ventral gun turrets. The cockpit itself was surprisingly small. In a major departure from most other freighter models, the YT-2000 positions its pilot and copilot in a fighter-like tandem arrangement, rather than the common side-by-side seating. Dual controls allow the ship to be flown from either position, but the cockpit pod has no room for passenger jump seats. In terms of room, the cockpit is similar to that of an early two-seat Y-Wing, though with better forward visibility.
As a model produced during the heat of the Galactic Rebellion, the YT-2000 came off the factory line far more heavily armed than its predecessors. A fixed laser and ion cannon fired forward from cheek positions beside the cockpit, while the twin gun turrets provided full defensive coverage. The turrets can also be locked forward and be fired from the cockpit, or remotely controlled by a droid copilot.
With this model’s owner in the copilot seat, we walked through standard startup procedures and lifted out of the planet’s gravity well. The short trip to a nearby asteroid belt allowed me time to get a feel for the YT-2000’s handling. With a top speed of 96MGLT, it could outrun a Y-Wing or TIE Bomber, and nearly keep pace with an X-Wing or TIE Fighter. Heavy shields meant it could soak up significant punishment from anything it couldn’t outrun, while the gun turrets gradually decimated the opposition. In pitch, roll, and yaw axes, the YT-2000 continued to give the impression of an overgrown heavy fighter, rather than a commercial light freighter.
Once at the asteroid belt, my host suggested that I hop into a turret for a bit of target practice while he flew. I’m no gunner, though, and the gunnery positions in the YT- models have always made me a little disoriented. My host’s manic glee at throwing his light freighter around like an overgrown heavy fighter only made targeting more difficult. I could however, see how well the freighter handled in capable hands.
Mercifully, I was able to return to the flight deck before I fired my lunch into the dorsal turret bubble.
In the final tally, the YT-2000 was an easy ship to like. Sadly, the market for new heavily-armed light freighter just wasn’t big enough, and the YT-2000 was forced to compete with its predecessor, which would be had at a significant bargain even with the upgrades required to make it compete with the YT-2000. A case of industrial espionage that leaked the prototype’s design specs to CEC’s competitors ahead of the ship’s initial launch was likely the last nail in the coffin, as CEC cut the YT-2000’s production run short to concentrate on the YT-2400. Still, for anyone looking for an armed light freighter with fighter aspirations, the YT-2000 has held up well. The used market is beginning to come around to their value as well, with well cared for models beginning to climb in value.